Get thrilled and chilled with the latest season of “American Horror Story”
Natalie Dean | Entertainment Editor
To the delight of “American Horror Story” fans, Netflix released the ninth season,, “1984,” on Nov. 13. Although FX released this series back in September of 2019, only now have the episodes been added to Netflix ⏤ just in time to provide some final screams for the fall season.
This latest spookfest pays homage to past horror movies like “Friday the 13th,” which are chock-full of slasher tropes; but like always, the show brings its classic twists.
Over the course of nine episodes in this season of “AHS: 1984,” the audience follows a group of young adults from Los Angeles who have been tasked with spreading camp cheer as counselors at Camp Redwood — a location that was shut down after a grotesque murder spree in 1970. Over a decade later, after the camp has been reopened, the killer is set on returning to the scene of the crime. These five scrappy youths quickly learn that they must find a way to stay alive or face a grizzly ending.
Among the twists and turns, people can expect to see some familiar faces in the returning cast ⏤ including Emma Roberts, Leslie Grossman and Billie Lourd. So, fire up the laptop, get some snacks and get those final fall thrills in.
Tune into these scary podcasts just in time for spooky season
Rylie Horrall | Managing Editor
Podcasts come in many different genres, such as true crime, lifestyle or business, to name a few. One specific genre that becomes popular during fall is horror storytelling — both fiction and nonfiction. In preparation for the spooky season, here are some horror podcasts to tune into.
“Lore” is a podcast that runs bi-weekly and covers historical stories with a dark theme. Each episode features pieces of history that involve tragic events, unusual circumstances and events, strange places and even mysterious creatures. Not only is it a podcast, but it also has a TV show and book series to go with it.
For those who prefer scary stories that aren’t based on real events, “The NoSleep Podcast” provides hundreds of episodes of eerie tales with accompanying atmospheric music. The podcast’s website provides a list of “sampler episodes” for new listeners to check out before delving into the rest of the episodes, and also issues a disclaimer that the stories are not for the faint of heart.
A first-hand account of a journalist’s search for the truth, the podcast “The Black Tapes” covers the mysterious past of her subject and delves into the “literal and figurative ghosts that haunt them both,” according to the show description.
“Spooked” is a seasonal podcast presented by “Snap Judgement,” a podcast that occurs year round. It features real-life accounts of supernatural events told by those who experienced them, following the theme of “Snap Judgement” but with a spooky twist of ghosts and the paranormal added to the mix.
For more true scary stories, “Radio Rental” provides another outlet for people to share their accounts of bizarre and startling events from their lives. The episode list isn’t very long, due to the creators taking a hiatus after only 6 episodes, but is now back to updating regularly.
Many of the podcasts listed have their own websites for viewers to tune into; however, there are a few apps where people can listen to for free or with a subscription, such as Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.
Strap on some boots and explore the area with geocaching
Natalie Dean | Entertainment Editor
Let’s be honest: cramming in last-minute assignments for online classes in the middle of a pandemic is stressful, and people need new ways to destress and get out and about. One way to appreciate the changing seasons and engage the mind and body is through geocaching, which is a fun way to involve and engage communities locally and globally.
Geocaching — aka geostaching — was originally created in Oregon in 2000 and is a hunt for hidden caches or stashes of items. The location is laid out in coordinates, but recent apps allow for built-in maps. Over time, the items have gotten more difficult to find, making the hunt for the item well worth it.
One popular app to explore this activity is an app called Geocaching, created by Groundspeak Inc. No matter a person’s experience or knowledge level, the app is user-friendly and has a built-in navigation system that will make the phone vibrate when within 30 feet of the hidden geocache.
In the app, instructions and information can be found on the selected location, and a place to rate and leave comments about the user’s experience. There’s some lingo that people use in the general geocaching community, as well as in the logbooks and on the app. They can be useful when first starting off, so here’s some quick shorthands:
BYOP: bring your own pencil/pen
FTF: first to find
Muggle: a non-geocacher
Attributes: a form of communicating what to expect at a cache location
TFTC: thanks for the cache
Typically, geocaches are in weatherproof items, and some are hidden in small tins or bottles. Inside, there can be a variety of items; some caches are supposed to be difficult to find and only allow for a small booklet — known as a logbook — where people leave their names or nicknames, and the date when they found that stash. If the stash is big enough, people can leave small toys and trinkets. Some of these items have been there for an extended amount of time and may have light water damage or have been well hidden, but overall they are typically pretty easy to find and can range in difficulty for those who want to try harder ones.
There is a basic etiquette and some basic tips to the game — like making an equal trade, no illegal items in the cache, hide it well and in the same area, be stealthy but not suspicious when rehiding the geocache, wear shoes and clothes that can get dirty and always put safety first. Geocaching is a fun way to get outside, but make sure to stay warm and safe, and find the hidden treasures that are just blocks away.
Enjoy the upcoming holiday tree lighting event online
Natalie Dean | Entertainment Editor
The holiday season and a pandemic don’t make for the most ideal of conditions, but there are still plenty of local holiday events for people to enjoy at home.
One staple of the holiday season in Monmouth is the 53rd annual tree lighting ceremony, a live broadcast of the massive Sequoia Tree that sits on the lawn of Campbell Hall. For many students at Western, especially first-years, getting bundled up and braving the cold to see the lights is essentially a rite of passage.
This year, staff and students get to enjoy the comforts of home and spread the holiday spirit since it will be an online event. It will be held on Friday, Nov. 20 from 6 to 7 p.m. and can be found at wou.edu/livestream, or on wouTV. So get a blanket, cocoa or some apple cider to settle in.
Along with the view of the lights on the tree, both of the mayors from Monmouth and Independence ⏤ along with President Rex Fuller ⏤ will be reading a winning essay by a local Monmouth elementary school student. Don’t forget to catch a special visit from Santa and Mrs. Clause who will be at the event to supervise and say hello, but it has not been confirmed if they will be riding in on the reindeer pulling the sled.
A dysfunctional household learns the value of family over the course of six seasons
Brianna Lelieur | Entertainment Editor
“Schitt’s Creek” is a recently concluded show that has been around for six seasons. The series starts with an incredibly dysfunctional family that is filthy rich, and becomes flat broke in a matter of minutes. They are then dropped in a random, middle-of-nowhere town that the main character, Johnny Rose, had bought for his son, David, as a joke. From there, viewers see their journey and evolution into figuring out how the real world works, and how to become productive members of society.
Now coming full circle, the show has finally reached its end. The show closed on a happy note, with the finale focusing on a message that the characters were glad they lost their money in the beginning, because it allowed them to become better, happier people.
The show’s last season’s best feature was well executed character development. They ensured that the characters still retained a lot of key aspects of their former lives, and didn’t completely make them something they were not.
An example of this was with Alexis Rose; she started out super rich, always sassy and in a hurry, looking for the next place to go and see. However, we see her develop into a woman who learns to appreciate taking a break once in a while, and learning that there is a lot more to life than always being on the go.
By the finale, she knows that sometimes it is better to have great company — whether it’s with family, a partner or friends — than doing what is “cool” at the time. However, despite the fact they calmed her down a bit, the itch of belonging in a big city always lingered in her. They didn’t write that off, and she didn’t transition into a completely different character.
“Schitt’s Creek” is a basic Family Dysfunction TV show — it makes the viewer feel like a part of the fame point can relate to them.
Overall review: It’s a decent show, and while I don’t think I’ll be rewatching it, I would definitely recommend it.
“The Devil All the Time” is a captivating and symbolic movie that will enthral you
Brianna Lelieur | Entertainment Editor
Released on Sept. 11, “The Devil All the Time” is a new Netflix adaptation of the book written by Donald Ray Pollock ⏤ who also narrates the film ⏤ and is directed by Antonio Campos. It’s a captivating, violent and symbolic movie that shows people’s continual plight with good and evil. Warning, this movie does contain content some viewers may find graphic or disturbing.
Right off the bat, this movie drops you into an unforgiving world where it seems everyone is running away or battling their inner demons. Bill Skarsgård’s character, Willard Russell, projects his strong Christian beliefs onto his son, Arvin Russell, played by Tom Holland. He teaches him that the world is a sinner, and that they need to be punished for the things they’ve done. Later on, Willard’s wife dies of cancer, and Willard proceeds to take his own life. This throws the audience straight into a whirlwind journey with Arvin, as we see him grow up to live a life much like his father’s.
I had never heard of “The Devil All the Time” prior to watching the movie, so I definitely was going into it blind. I was intrigued by the key influence of Christianity throughout the movie, as it was what shaped the entire plot. The characters in the movie believe, to some extent, that they hold an influence over “good” if they simply pray hard enough, or if they can make a sacrifice to God. An impactful quote referencing this is Donald Pollack stating, “God had a tendency of askin\g men to make sacrifices in order to prove their faith.” The character’s continually deal with the plight of extremism in Christianity during the movie, and they’re willing to go to any length to prove their faith.
Photo via IMDB
The main complaint from critics — that it is hypocritical — has been bothering me since watching the movie. However, that’s one of the key points to keep in mind when watching “The Devil All the Time.” Due to its very religious-based themes, hypocrisy is common throughout the movie because it’s a sin in the Bible. The whole movie is about being a sinner.
One of the things that stuck with me throughout the movie, was the development of Arvin. Over the course of the movie, we see him go from a timid boy who keeps his head down to defending the honor of his kin and starting a vicious crime spree. I viewed him as one of the only characters that truly was not hypocritical, because from the beginning Arvin knew who he was; he knew he was a sinner. This allowed him to not do the things he did in the name of God or for religious reasons. He was simply just a human, who was dealt a bad hand in life and acted solely out of revenge and survival.
Overall review: I would recommend this movie a million and one times. While it starts off slow, it progressively gets better. It definitely captivates you with the beautiful cinematography and intense plot. This book-to-movie adaptation was astoundingly well executed.
A timeline of a few video games coming out in October and November 2020
Brianna Lelieur | Entertainment Editor
Through the rest of 2020, we are going to be seeing a huge release of new video games — both new and continued installations — to keep us entertained during homebound times. Here’s a list of five games coming out soon to be on the watch for. Happy playing.
Amnesia: Rebirth (Oct. 20) – Kickstart the spooky Halloween season with a first-person horror based game. If this game is anything like the previous installments, we can almost guarantee a more intense horror factor that will keep players on the edge of their seats and make them question the things around them.
Watchdogs: Legion (Oct. 29) – Set in London, everything within the watchdog’s realm is being monitored by an omniscient surveillance state; the military has its stronghold on the city and crime is at an all time high. The player is introduced to a variety of characters, where they then have to recruit people to join a resistance group to overthrow the system.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope (Oct. 30) – The second installment of the Dark Pictures Anthology, “Little Hope,” is a choice-based horror game. The story follows five characters trapped in a ghost town as the player(s) traverse through multiple timelines to unfold the mystery. Like it’s predecessor, “Man of Medan,” the game has two multiplayer features, in which different players take control of certain characters either cooperatively online, or in person.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Nov. 10) – The storyline based game takes on nordic themes and culture, and gives the player a chance to play as Eivor, a viking raider. There are various storylines and side missions with the key theme of building a viking army to fight and destroy the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms.
Cyberpunk 2077 (Nov. 19) – With the initial release date being delayed twice, Cyberpunk is finally being released in November of 2020. It’s a game with vibrant color and details, resembling the same world of “Blade Runner 2049”. A futuristic game based in Night City, California, players get access to an almost unlimited free world, playing as a mercenary named V who is chasing after a cybernetic implant that holds the key to immortality. Everything about the character can be customized, and the world can be thoroughly explored.
